Nick Jonas, star of band The Jonas Brothers, is lending his mega-stardom to a cause close to his heart.

The pop star - who has diabetes - has teamed up with a drug company to promote a new blood sugar meter in an effort to make it easier for sufferers to keep track of their glucose levels.

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Campaigning: Nick, 17, plays his guitar in a new TV ad airing in the US, in which he urges those with diabetes to use the digital monitor

Nick, 17, appears in a new TV ad airing in the US now, in which he urges those with diabetes to use it, as he plays his guitar.

The digital Contour device from Bayer plugs into a computer via a USB port and helps sufferers track their glucose levels over the course of a day.

He has previously told how he was rushed to hospital before doctors diagnosed him with the illness at the age of 13.

'I lost 15lb in two weeks,' he told a US television show. I weighed 115lb, I went down to 100.'

Keeping track: Nick holds the digital Contour device from Bayer which plugs into a computer via a USB port and helps sufferers track their glucose levels

Doctors performed tests on Nick and concluded that he had Type 1 diabetes.

'It was the scariest thing ever,' his brother Joe said.

'I remember we went swimming one day and I could see his back and bones.'

Nick now has to test his own blood sugar and wears a pump on his back, which delivers insulin into his bloodstream.

Experience: The teenager has even written a song, entitled A Little Bit Longer, about his experience of diabetes

The teenager has even written a song, entitled A Little Bit Longer, about his experience of diabetes.

Meanwhile, the pop heart-throb is set to make his West End theatre debut, playing the role of Marius in Les Miserables.

The Daily Mail's Baz Bamigboye revealed that Nick will perform the part of the student at the Queen's Theatre for a three-week run from June 21.

Nick has been rehearsing the music in the U.S. but will begin three weeks of full rehearsals with other new special cast members in London in the next few days before giving his first performance at the Queen's.

In October, Nick will be part of a huge, star-studded company being assembled to perform a 25th anniversary concert at the O2 Centre in Greenwich, South-East London.